• by Larissa Faw , February 2, 2014

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and Priceline intends to flatter some of today’s big Super Bowl advertising moments via social media.

The online travel agency and its creative agency Relevant 24 will recreate some of the Big Game’s spots with hand puppets and post them to Vine throughout the game using the #ExpressBowl hashtag.

"We know Big Game advertising is such a huge area of focus -- with good reason…brands spend a ton of time and money to pump hyper creative ideas out that consumers (and the media) love," says Leslie Cafferty, Corporate Communications, Priceline. "We are Game-Day advertisers as well, but we also recognize that there are ways to capitalize on the second screen, particularly through social media platforms where we can engage in conversations that are already taking place, and not just limit our game day advertising to one-way TV messaging." 

The first six-second clip that Priceline will post on Vine plays off of the SodaStream submission featuring actress Scarlett Johansson that was originally rejected for mentioning Pepsi and Coke.

"The puppet parody idea is a way to reiterate our brand message -- that Priceline.com is the expert when it comes to savings and efficiency,” said Cafferty. “And it’s a way to participate in the already-existing conversation about Super Bowl advertising," she adds. "Our brand is always a bit tongue-in-cheek, and we are looking for a way to have fun (and give recognition to) some of the biggest game day advertisers." 

Still, this campaign's success is based on its ability to capture and mimic the most buzz-worthy moments. Making it work -- without really being able to plan ahead -- is a key challenge, says Cafferty. "Since much of this strategy executes in real-time, we’ll be working live to capitalize on the big moments of the event, whether that’s the half time show or any bubbling game-related event that is driving consumer buzz."